You must have heard the adage which says “health is wealth”. Sure, health might not be actual Singapore dollars, but good health is something that is to be put above everything. Only when you have good health, can you earn those Singapore dollars to enjoy the comforts of life. With our changing lifestyles and environment, the future of our health is uncertain. The only way to deal with a future health crisis is to be prepared for it. Millennials might shrug off the need to get their health insured, but it is worthwhile for the following reasons:
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We live in an unhealthy environment with harmful habits.
Most of us work for long hours at our desk and keep snacking on junk food in between. Lack of physical activity can cause a lot of diseases in the long run. Sleeping erratically adversely affects your health. If you also smoke and drink regularly, it just adds to your health problems. If the above description is your lifestyle, you would need to mend your ways and take care of your health.
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If you have diseases running in your family, it is better to be insured.
Sometimes, the genes may carry susceptibility to certain diseases that your parents or grandparents might have had. In case you know of any of such diseases or allergies leading to diseases, it is wise to sign up for a health insurance policy.
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Insurance is a good back-up in medical emergencies.
In case of medical emergencies, you do not have to worry about the bills while being in trouble. If you are not covered by a medical insurance policy, you might end up running helter-skelter to fund your treatment. The stress of paying the bills will only add to the stress of your disease when in reality you should be paying attention to getting healed.
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Insurance has a wide umbrella of coverage according to your needs.
If you think the health insurance provided by your employer is not sufficient, you need to look into various services by private insurers. The aspects covered under medical insurance may include any of the following:
- Emergency treatment
- Hospitalisation coverage
- Doctor’s consultation
- Outpatient and Inpatient coverage
- Dental procedures
- Coverage for surgery
Exclusions in health insurance
There are, however, some aspects of medical health that are excluded from the policies. Exclusions from medical insurance policies are as follows:
- Pre-existing health condition
- Non-medical charges at a hospital
- Cosmetic surgery
- Infertility treatment
- Purchase of appliances for medical assistance like pacemaker, dialysis machine, etc.
- Maternity charges
- Coverage while overseas
While these are the usual exclusions, there are riders available which can be combined with the regular plans. Riders are add-ons that can be specially applied for along with your usual medical insurance policy. These riders promise to provide extra coverage for many aspects.
Types of health insurance
There are mainly two types of medical insurance available in Singapore – individual insurance and family insurance.
Individual insurance means that the coverage will be provided only for the individual in whose name the medical insurance policy is registered and not to anybody else, like his/her kin.
Family insurance means that along with an individual, his/her spouse and children will also be covered under the medical insurance policy. Most health insurance companies will have a restriction on the number of children you can include.
There are many insurance companies offering health insurance policies in Singapore. The names of a few of them are as follows:
- AXA
- AIA
- AIG
- AVIVA
- Liberty
- NTUC
- Prudential
Things to consider before signing up for a health insurance policy:
- The most important one, perhaps, is to sign up for it as early as possible. This is important for various reasons listed below:
- When you are young, it is easier to get approval for a medical insurance policy as insurers believe you are in good health. As you age, your susceptibility to diseases rises.
- Most health insurance policies have a waiting period. This means you will be covered for any medical bills only after that period which is determined by the insurer. Signing up early means you hopefully fall ill way afterwards and therefore can get instant coverage.
- Additionally, as you age, there are very fewer companies offering medical insurance policies to the elderly. The premium you have to pay is largely dependent on your age. The younger you are, the lesser premium you have to pay.
- If unfortunately, you apply for a health insurance policy after being diagnosed with a health condition, the premium may be high, and as mentioned, the options available are very slim.
- If from a young age, you put away money for medical insurance, you need not worry when you age. You know that medical bills will be taken care of. It saves you a ton of hassle if you or someone from your family falls ill.
- Compare the insurance policies available in the market. Look for aspects that are important for you. Compare the premiums for various policies. We all know usually the higher the premium, the wider the coverage is.
- Read the fine print to understand all the terms. Apart from the obvious ones like premiums and coverage, you need to look out for other aspects as well. A few of these aspects to consider are given below:
- If it is a family insurance policy that you are looking at, check how many children it covers and until what age. Check if there are special riders for children after that age.
- Check the list of hospitals where the insurer is willing to pay the coverage cost. The number of names it has on its list, the better it is for you to gain medical care in times of need.
- Look into the mode of payment, whether it is direct/cashless or reimbursement-based or involves co-pay. Direct/cashless means it will pay the bills directly to the hospital, reimbursement-based means you will have to pay the entire amount and the company will pay you back the money later and co-pay means you will be required to pay a part of the bill.
- Check the things it actually covers. Most insurers, for example, may not cover the cost of television in the room where admitted.
- The waiting time may be different for different insurers, during which, you will not be covered for any medical emergencies or illness.
- Check for the rules of policy renewal to know if they are guaranteed renewals. Additionally, read up on the portability rules of the policy, if you think in the future you will need another policy.
There are many health insurance providers in Singapore. You would need to compare and choose one according to your requirement.